Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. See our User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. See our Privacy Policy and User Agreement for details.

227 yelli's important lesson

1.
Yelli’s Important
Lesson
A happy family of angelfish lived in the sea by a large and colorful coral
reef. There was Papa, Mama, Yelli, and her brother Ben.
As a family their days were busy, finding food and watching out for big fish
and dangerous sea creatures. But there was also plenty of time for Yelli and
Benny to play and swim with their friends.
One day, Yelli was playing hide-and-seek with two of her young angelfish
friends from the Pinto family. The three angelfish were swimming in and out of the
coral reef, hiding behind tall green stalks of seaweed and trying to surprise the
others.

2.
In all the fun, they didn’t realize that they had wandered away from the
center of the coral reef, where all the young fish were supposed to stay unless
they were with their parents. It was too dangerous for the young fish to swim
out into the open sea by themselves.
One of the Pinto sisters noticed how far they had wandered in their play.
“Aren’t we too far out? We’d better head back!”
Yelli was the eldest of the three. She thought for a moment and then said,
“We’ll be safe as long as we’re hiding in this tall seaweed. No big fish will be
able to spot us here. Besides, we’re having so much fun!”

3.
The two younger friends weren’t sure about this, but since Yelli was the eldest,
they decided to listen to her, and they all kept playing.
Soon they began to get hungry, so they headed for their homes. Yelli wondered
if Papa or Mama would realize that she had gone to play further away than she had
permission to, but when she got home to her parents, they didn’t ask.
The next day, when she swam out into the open, she saw a large group of fish
huddled together at the edge of the coral reef.
What’s happened? she wondered.

4.
As she swam up to the group,
she heard her papa talking to
the other fish.
“The Pinto girls almost
met a very big fish. It just
so happened that I was on
lookout and saw it coming
their way, and I was able to
call them over
and get them
back into the
safety of the
coral reef.
But it was
close.”
“How did this happen?” Mama Pinto asked, swimming up
alongside her two girls.
“I’d like to know that myself,” Papa said as he looked around
the group at all the angelfish who were gathered around.
Yelli felt a lump in her throat. “It’s my fault,” she squeaked
quietly. “I’m so sorry.”
“Come over here, please,” Papa said. The group of fish made
room for her to swim through to the middle.

5.
“Yesterday the three of us
were playing hide-and-seek,” Yelli
explained. “We were soon further
away from the coral reef than we
had planned to go. One of the
girls suggested
that we turn back,
but I told them
we’d be safe if we
hid in the grass,
so we stayed.
Nothing bad
happened
yesterday, but...”
Papa put his fin around little Yelli. “But you
were the eldest and they were watching you
and looking up to you, so they did what you
thought was best, right?”
“Yes … I should have,” she stammered.
“And then today they tried it by
themselves, and something bad
almost did happen.”